Biomass News

A stalled attempt to revive a biomass project in Vermont has seen the developer take his case to the state’s Supreme Court. In 2010 a bid was launched to build a wood-chip burning power plant close to the border between Connecticut and New York. The project had to be put on hold in 2014 following the withdrawal of one of its major financers. Ted Verrill, owner of Pequot Energy in…
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Environmental campaigning organisation Biofuelwatch has published a report which investigates a proposal for the world’s largest biomass gasification plant in Holyhead, and Orthios Group, the company behind it. The proposed plant would, if successful, gasify pellets or woodchips made from up to 3 million tonnes of wood every year, and it would supply heat to “the world’s largest…
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Active Energy Group (AEG), a London Stock Exchange-listed firm and renewable energy specialist, has raised £11.57 million (€13.50m) via the issue of five-year convertible loan note to existing and new investors, with the cash set to be used to accelerate the development of the company’s CoalSwitch technology. In a statement, AEG said it plans to build the first…
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A Chatham House expert has welcomed the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) contribution to the debate on whether using wood-based biomass for energy is speeding up climate warming. Rob Bailey, research director of the Energy, Environment and Resources Department at Chatham House, told Bioenergy Insight: “It's good this discussion is being had and, while I disagree…
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Vietnam has huge potential to produce renewable energy from biomass-based sources, according to a new report for the Vietnam Energy Association (VEA). Vietnam.net reported that the VEA said that this could amount to up to 1 billion kWh in 2020 and 6 billion kWh in 2050 from waste, Vietnam.net said, with a total amount from biomass and waste of up to 9 billion kWh in 2020 and 80 kWh in…
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Eggersmann Group is expanding its product offering with the acquisition of fellow German firm and biological drying technology specialist Convaero. Eggersmann said that Bio-Dry, the biological drying technology of Convaero, is being integrated via an asset deal into its portfolio with immediate effect. Marienfeld based Eggersmann has been active in the mechanical-biological waste treatment market…
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More than 125 academics have joined the International Energy Agency Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA Bioenergy) slamming Chatham House’s recent report on bioenergy, calling it ‘misleading. The group of academics from across the world and the IEA state that the report “does not present an objective overview of the current state of scientific understanding with…
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The Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (SFTA) is repeating its warning to the UK government that the "headlong drive to produce renewable energy from by-products of the distilling industry through anaerobic digesters and biomass plants will cause severe damage to the beef industry". The supply of distillery by-products, draff, pot ale syrup and dark grains, which beef and many sheep systems in…
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China will invest $184 million dollars into a 30 megawatt biomass power plant in Guinea Bissau, according to a media report in Reuters. "The funds are meant for construction of a biomass plant fed by two generators each with 15 ( sic.) kilowatt (MW) capacity," a statement from the Chinese embassy said, quoted in Reuters. China will foot 93% of the bill for the project, while Guinea pays for the…
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Japanese trading houses and electricity retailers are increasing their imports of wood chips and palm shells, with demand expected to surge amid a rush of construction of biomass power plants, according to a report from the Nikkei Asian Review. The government is revising its fixed-price power purchase scheme so that the price for biomass-generated power falls to 21 yen (19 cents) from 24 yen per…
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A coalition of green groups is calling on the UK Chancellor Exchequer Philip Hammond to use his first budget statement to end future subsidies for biomass. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as NRDC, Biofuelwatch, Fern and Dogwood Alliance  wrote a letter to earlier today (1 March, 2017). They wrote: “A large proportion of UK renewable energy is generated by old coal-fired…
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US-based science and engineering centre Argonne National Laboratory has developed technology that synergistically uses two waste biomass streams to generate two bioproducts and enhance the process of anaerobic digestion (AD). According to the organisation, the digestion of wastewater can be improved sludge by incorporating biomass-derived, carbon-sequestering char within the digester, thus…
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Finnish energy firm Fortum has installed a lithium-ion battery, which is believed to be the biggest in the Nordic countries, at its biomass power plant in Järvenpää for storage use. The investment was part of Fortum’s Finland-based ‘Batcave project’ and cost around €1.6 million. Fortum will also receive a 30% energy investment subsidy from the Ministry of…
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Drax Biomass and the American Forest Foundation (AFF) has announced a multi-year project to invest in the future of small family landowners around Drax’s Morehouse BioEnergy facility in Northeast Louisiana. The five-year, $1.1 million (€1.03m) project – the “Morehouse Family Forests Initiative” (MFFI) – will provide landowners with the tools and…
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